Portobello Mushroom Lasagna

Yum!

I made a half-size lasagna in a square pan because my husband was skeptical that gluten-free lasagna was possible. I think he was also a little bit leery of the vegetarian aspect of it, but we are working on that. Well, he was wrong – it was SO good!I originally saw this recipe made on the Food Network show “Barefoot Contessa.” After reading all the reviews of the recipe online, I made a few of the suggested alterations. Here’s the recipe as it would be for a full-size lasagna. By the way, this is NOT a lasagna for those who can’t eat dairy – sorry.

Portobello Mushroom Lasagna

Ingredients:

Salt
Olive oil
Package of lasagna noodles (Tinkyada)
4 cups milk (2% worked just fine)
12 Tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1/2 cup sweet rice flour
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Splash of white wine (1/4 cup?)
1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped shallots
1 1/2 pounds portobello mushrooms (or a combination of different types of mushrooms)
1/2 cup (about) grated Parmesan
3/4 cup (about) grated mozzarella

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Cook lasagna noodles according to package (leave them very al dente). Drain. Set aside.

Slice the mushroom caps 1/4-inch thick. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil and 2 tablespoons of butter in a large saute pan. When butter melts, add the shallots and half the mushrooms, sprinkle with salt, and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until the mushrooms are tender and they release some of their juices. Toss occasionally to make sure the mushrooms cook evenly. Remove to plate. Repeat with remaining mushrooms. Set aside.

For the white sauce, bring milk to a simmer in a saucepan (or heat in microwave). Melt 8 tablespoons of butter in a large saucepan (you can use the same one you used for mushrooms). Add the flour and cook for 1 minute over low heat, stirring constantly. Pour the hot milk into the butter-flour mixture all at once. Add a splash of white wine. Add a salt (a dash), pepper and nutmeg, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring first with the wooden spoon and then with a whisk, for 3 to 5 minutes, until thick. Set aside off the heat.

To assemble the lasagna, spread some of the sauce in the bottom of an 8 by 12 by 2-inch baking dish. Arrange a layer of noodles on top, then more sauce, then 1/3 of the mushrooms, and 1/4 of the cheeses. Repeat 2 more times, layering noodles, sauce, mushrooms, and cheese. Top with final layer of noodles and sauce, and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Bake the lasagna for 40-45 minutes, or until the top is browned and the sauce is bubbly and hot. Allow to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes and serve hot.